Julianne Moore covers the June issue of DuJour magazine, and every time I’m reminded that she’s 52 years old, I go into a bit of shock. Of course, I am notoriously awful at guessing people’s ages, but with Julianne, I honestly don’t see how she’s a year over 40. She looks fantastic, and she has a healthy attitude about aging too. Overall, DuJour’s photoshoot is rather underwhelming, but this particular black-and-white shot is immaculate.

In the interview (titled “The Most Honest Actress in Hollywood”), Julianne lets rip a little bit on how “boring” the topic of aging is. You can tell that she’s pretty tired of discussing it, and I can’t blame her. As a culture, we are all obsessed with aging and trouble ourselves over silly things like fine lines and wrinkles. Of course, Julianne has even more exposure to that line of thinking because she’s in an industry where looks are (almost) everything. Here are some excerpts:

On aging: “I just think that it’s boring! I don’t say that to you – I say that to everyone. Our fear of aging is really a fear of dying; aging is a physical manifestation of decay, and I think that is what’s so upsetting to most people.”

: “Men aren’t asked about age. Men aren’t asked about their children. Not that these things aren’t important, but I do feel like it becomes reductive when a woman’s life becomes, ‘Talk to me about your kids and how you feel about plastic surgery.’”

On her husband, Bart: “We are a family. We are emotionally responsible for one another, so we wanted to be legally responsible for one another, too. (It’s) something that I always wanted to do,’ Julianne says. ‘I didn’t know if I’d get married–I just didn’t innately feel like that was something I could be goal-oriented about–but I knew that I wanted to have children.”

On over-40 roles: “I do think that there’s interesting stuff out there, and it’s not anybody’s job to find it for me but mine. You’re always responsible for trying to figure out what to do with your own career.”

I love that last sentiment. So many actresses whine about the lack of career prospects over age 40, but Julianne refuses to play the victim. While it’s true that male actors tend to peak much later in their careers, women can still go strong as long as their talent (and decision-making skills) will take them.

Julianne also has a definite point about how women get asked all the aging & family-oriented question in interviews. That just comes with the territory and is part of appealing to the fan-based demographic.

so basically everyone here is just talking about her age and her looks.
Makes her point rather well I’d say.
And how funny that she and I would have the same opinion – people’s brains are rotting from all this age and plastic surg. obsession, either their own or some famous person’s. We are all gonna die someday. Get positive and smile.

I know people who have met her who say she is so nice an ridiculously down to earth, plus she was in The Big Lebowski, so Julianne Moore is tops in my book, and it’s nice to read an interview that reinforces that. She’s the kind of actress that will always have a job.

She’s an actress of whom I buy every character she plays. Does she have children? Is she married? I don’t know! And that’s the difference to celebritys. Julianne Moore is an actress, not a celebrity. I appreciate that.

Definitely a beautiful woman. Looking ageless after all this year just like Michelle Pfeiffer.

Great pictures too, but why does she has one facial expression in all of the pictures? Kinda like Kate Upton with opening the mouth and showing the teeth? Would love to see her in a different expression.

Because when women smile, it shows the laugh lines around their eyes. I don’t care, I just smile away. I would rather look happy with wrinkles than stupefied without them. She still looks great, though.

I applaud her sentiments and wish her well. However, when I see actresses like Susan Sarandon and Dianne Keaton mucking around in crap like “The Big Wedding” or whatever it is- I weep. I get that everyone has bills, but this?

I am a 33 y/o male and I get asked about getting married/having kids a lot by co-workers, relatives, friends etc. It may be less intense than a comparable 33 y/o female would get but it still happens. “Dont you want kids?”, “why aren’t you married yet” etc.

@Nick: my husband & I were just talking about this the other day. He is 33 also, & he said since he turned 30 people ask him alot about when we’re having kids & why don’t we have them yet & isn’t he worried he’ll be too old to be a father,etc.
The difference, in my experience, is people start that stuff SO much earlier w/ females. I have been asked, not joking, since I was 18 years old when I would get married, have kids, etc. WTF.
It would’ve been great to not have been bugged about that stuff until I was 30

She looks amazing, and always has. She also has a very healthy attitude about aging. I wish everyone did. I am 51, and people will say to me, “really? you don’t look that old?!?” I laugh and say, “Well, thank you, I don’t feel “old!!” Although I recently had a TV repairman ask if I knew how to use email!! Geez, I’m 51, not 151!! The ONLY way to age is with a smile and a sense of humor..otherwise the people around you would drive you crazy!

Up until actors hit their mid-60′s, there’s a ton of work out there for TALENTED people of both sexes if they don’t have a massive ego eg. if they can deal with not being top billed, if they’re open to television work, if they’ll work on indie movies and give up and coming directors a shot, if they can cope with being part of a big ensemble and so on. Only a tiny handful of actors can carry a major film after they hit 60. Meryl Streep can. Jack Nicholson could if he felt like working. But not everyone is a Meryl or Jack, even if they’re amazing.

The actresses who complain about there being no good parts for older women are the Demi Moore’s and Sharon Stone’s of the world. Meanwhile Kristin Scott Thomas, Tilda Swinton, Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert, Nicole Kidman, Annette Benning, Susan Sarandon, Laura Linney, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Julianne of course, Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Cate Blanchett and many more are still working regularly and getting plum roles well past the supposed used by date of actresses.

But even the biggest male actors struggle at a certain point. Warren Beatty basically just gave up entirely, Robert Redford doesn’t work much and when he does he creates the projects for himself, De Niro and Pacino are ruining their legacies with straight to DVD dreck. Tom Cruise and Will Smith are going to have major issues soon if they don’t stop with the action movies and start doing really strong dramatic work soon (and Will’s going to need to get over his thing of always needing to be the star).

This exactly. The problem is that if women after 40 want to continue to be the cute ingenue or if all the talent they ever had was to be the cute ingenue – then they are going to be out of luck.

You can start as a cute ingenue and grow as an actress of course – see Sally Field – but you have to be willing to appear as a middle aged woman, because honey after 40 that is what you are! So if you starve yourself and botox yourself and put in fake cheekbones etc. etc. you just look like a strange middle aged woman – and why would anyone hire you for the cute ingenue roles when there are real 20 year old ingenues out there?

@Justme ‘… But you have to be willing to appear as a middle aged woman, because honey after 40 that is what you are! So if you starve yourself and botox yourself and put in fake cheekbones etc. etc. you just look like a strange middle aged woman.’

This is so well put! I am 40+ and have resisted having anything done to my face so far. This strengthens my resolve to refrain from doing so for at least a little while longer Looking strange is definitely worse than looking a little mature!

I dont think this is entirely true. Men in their 40-60s still get cast as the romantic lead against much younger women. Those kind of parts are no longer available to women after a certain age so that narrows down whats available to them. There are just more part in general for men and the women parts are even slimmer in mid age. Even Meryl Streep has complained about this so there is something to it. I am quite sure Moore has spoken about this before also. But i love her reply she has chosen to be proactive instead of whining.

But even Meryl Streep has acknowledged how difficult it can be to age in Hollywood. In an interview that included her, Julienne, and Nicole, she stated, “In our business, I think the attention that’s given to how you look is cruel and unrealistic. The people in the audience will accept much more than the people who run the film studios will” Julienne also stated she understood why actresses would lie about their age. Nicole admitted she must take pay cuts to get the roles she wants.

Yes, the roles are there, but sacrifices must be made. Yes, you make them, but getting old shouldn’t be something you are penalized for…in any industry. But you are. And not just Hollywood. Ageism is alive and thriving in our society.

True enough – but movie producers will pay for what they think will result in high ticket sales. And usually those are not Indy movies about real people who happen to be middle aged or older.

Also older women are not usually going to play the main love interest in a movie. That is because the vast majority of moviegoers want to see young unblemished bodies and faces. It has always been so -and probably always will be so.

Middle aged women can be attractive and pretty, but they cannot compete with a fresh young face in the gorgeous sexy stakes. (And I say this as a middle aged women btw) The reason is totally biological. Young women are fertile and that is unconsciously what draws men to them. Think about what makes a women attractive and what older women use plastic surgery to try to reproduce: slim bodies with narrow waists, but still curvy hips, firm high breasts, unlined skin etc. etc. These are the marks of fertility (watch what happens to most women’s waist to hip ratio after menopause)

Is it fair – guess not, but it is so and nothing much will change it. When Nicole Kidman was younger there were middle aged actresses who would have loved to get the roles she did.

And that is my point, isn’t it? We value youth. Yes, there is the biological aspect, but there is more to us than procreation. And looks. There is also valuing wisdom and experience, much like other societies. There was a time in corporate america where a person could stay in a job until retirement. That is no longer possible for many people. Once they start to reach their 50′s, they are “let go” because of downsizing or some other reason. This allows the company to hire someone younger at a lower cost. I know far too many people that who have experienced this in the workplace.

”Also older women are not usually going to play the main love interest in a movie. That is because the vast majority of moviegoers want to see young unblemished bodies and faces.”

Says who? Personally, I’d much rather see a gorgeous ‘older’ woman on screen than a talentless nobody like Megan Fox. In fact, one thing which is sure to decide me AGAINST a film is if a middle-aged man is paired with a much younger woman. I find that distinctly unsexy, no matter how ‘unblemished’ the actress is (and what about the actor?)

”Middle aged women can be attractive and pretty, but they cannot compete with a fresh young face in the gorgeous sexy stakes.”

Again though, you’re reducing women to their superficial appeal to men. Firstly, there are lots of roles which don’t require stripping off and secondly, women (I believe) spend more on cinema tickets than men, so surely the film industry should take their wishes into account. And women, certainly those older than 35 or so – a huge market – don’t want to see some talentless bimbo whose only appeal is her looks.

”These are the marks of fertility (watch what happens to most women’s waist to hip ratio after menopause)”

And men never age? Of course they do, and often not very well at all. But that doesn’t stop them getting great roles. Surely there’s more to a woman than her waist to hip ratio?

Middle aged women are not the target demographic for movie producers when they have blockbusters in mind. So your or my opinion does not matter too much to them. However there are Indy movies (as I said) and we should support them. But the big bucks are in youth. That’s why the money goes there.
There are acting roles for older women- but they are not going to be given the “pretty young girl” role – that’s why a successful older actress must in fact know how to act, not just be cute. Trying to stay in that classification is the reason women like Demi Moore or Meg Ryan start to look strange and not like anyone seen in the real world.

Men after 60 are in pretty much the same place as women after – say mid- forties. The reason they go on for maybe another 10 to 15 years is also biological. Men’s fertility does not decline as fast and as completely as women’s. Therefore a man with some wrinkles (some – mind you) can be considered “rugged” and still attractive. But once the jawline starts to ge and the love handles prove recalcitrant, they have to move out of romantic leads too.

I.m not saying this is “fair” but these things are rooted in our biology. The actresses who do well,in middle age usually do look younger than normal women of their age – hence all the remarks about how amazing and not like a 52 year old Julianne Moore looks. Film is a visual medium and beauty has always and will always be prized.

@Justme I completely disagree. It has nothing to do with a supposedly “biological” thing (I mean, really?) and everything to do with our culture. How come then that men in their fifties and sixties can still be the lead in a romantic comedy but their love interest is always always younger than them? Sexism. Older men are “hot” while older women (and by older I mean 40 which is not old, by any stretch of the imagination) are no longer considered f*ckable by the exec studios.
I don’t think nobody wants to see older women on the screen, that’s bullshit.

Agree completely with myrto and again disagree with justme. Resorting to the old ‘you can’t argue with biology’ line is, I’m sorry, a sexist cop-out.

” Trying to stay in that classification is the reason women like Demi Moore or Meg Ryan start to look strange and not like anyone seen in the real world.”

And when’s the last time you’ve seen either in a major role? Whereas women like Julianne Moore or Tilda Swinton – both in their 50s and with little if any plastic surgery – are getting lots of interesting parts.

”Men after 60 are in pretty much the same place as women after – say mid- forties. The reason they go on for maybe another 10 to 15 years is also biological.”

Again, this is pure sexism, reducing people to their reproductive organs. Has it never occured to you that the reason that men ‘go on longer’ might have something to do with the fact that almost all studio executives are – wait for it – middle-aged men who like to cast others similar to them, and like to imagine that hot young women still find them attractive, all evidence to the contrary?

And btw men’s fertility does start to decline from around their early 40s. Not as drastically as women’s, sure, but to claim that men are at peak fertility for another 15 years simply isn’t true.

”Men’s fertility does not decline as fast and as completely as women’s. Therefore a man with some wrinkles (some – mind you) can be considered “rugged” and still attractive.”

So are you saying that a woman ‘with some wrinkles’ can NOT be considered attractive? So Helen Mirren is not attractive? Or Sharon Stone?

It was exactly my point that women like Demi Moore and Meg Ryan have tried to stay in the cute class that they have no more major roles. Middle aged women have roles, but they are never going to be the cute love interest and that is what the main roles for women are.

Only middle aged actresses who can ACT get roles. But the roles are fewer than those of “pretty young things”. And frequently they are in smaller Indy movies.

As to biology – we are animals underneath it all. What is beautiful in women and attractive to men is the appearance of fertility which is at its peak in youth. Middle aged women who appear younger like Moore are praised for this quality. I know at men’s fertility declines after 40, but it does not stop at say 51, which gives them (in people’s deepest unconscious minds) the appearance of virility longer than women have the appearance of fertility. This is all unconscious and instinctual.

None of this says that middle aged women are useless(heck I’m one myself!), but they cannot compete with young women in sexiness. Of course there are many other qualities in life, but in many films sexiness rules – because people like it.

Of course Helen Mirren and Sharon Stone are attractive, but they were more beautiful when they were younger. Didn’t make them better actresses or human beings, but they were more beautiful.

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a flying, and that same flower that blooms today, tomorrow will be dying.”

“Come and kiss me sweet and twenty – youth’s a stuff will not endure”

People have always known this. Julianne Moore knows it too which is why she says we fear aging because it brings us closer to death. Youth seems farther from death and that is another reason it is so attractive.

”Middle aged women have roles, but they are never going to be the cute love interest and that is what the main roles for women are.”

Are they? how many of this year’s (or any year’s) Oscar nominees would fall into this category?

”Only middle aged actresses who can ACT get roles.”

True, but same for men. Do you really think Henry Cavill is going to be getting roles in 20, or even 10 years from now?

”But the roles are fewer than those of “pretty young things”. And frequently they are in smaller Indy movies.”

That’s just not true. Moore, Swinton, Annette Benning, to name but a few, all star in major Hollywood productions.

”What is beautiful in women and attractive to men is the appearance of fertility which is at its peak in youth.”

My point is that not everyone has such a narrow view of ‘attractiveness’ and that acting isn’t all about simply providing eye candy. If so, any Megan Fox or Tatum Channing will do.

”Middle aged women who appear younger like Moore are praised for this quality.”

Actually, I don’t think Moore does look younger than her age. She looks 52. A gorgeous 52, but still 52. Personally, I admire women – and men – who look their age and still look attractive. It is possible.

”I know at men’s fertility declines after 40, but it does not stop at say 51, which gives them (in people’s deepest unconscious minds) the appearance of virility longer than women have the appearance of fertility. This is all unconscious and instinctual.”

I don’t look at a fifty something man and think he looks ‘virile’. Sure, men that age can still be attractive, but they are clearly less ‘virile’ than they were in their youth.

”None of this says that middle aged women are useless(heck I’m one myself!), but they cannot compete with young women in sexiness.”

Not sure about that. It seems to me to be a very very narrow definition of sexiness. ‘Older’ people may not be as taut-bodied as their younger counterparts, but in some respects they can be much more sexual.

”Of course there are many other qualities in life, but in many films sexiness rules – because people like it.”

So why all the unattractive older men paired with hot young women? Please don’t tell me young female cinema goers demand this sort of thing! They want hot YOUNG men!

”Of course Helen Mirren and Sharon Stone are attractive, but they were more beautiful when they were younger. Didn’t make them better actresses or human beings, but they were more beautiful.”

Same could be said for the men. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Firth are still hot, but they were much hotter 15 years ago. Still don’t see interviewers interrogating them about their age.

”People have always known this. Julianne Moore knows it too which is why she says we fear aging because it brings us closer to death. Youth seems farther from death and that is another reason it is so attractive.”

Perhaps so. My problem is that you seem to apply this reasoning to women, but not to men. And that, as I say, is a good old-fashioned sexist double standard.

In ‘commercial’ films, there is that awkward age for women… from around 40 to 55 (give or take!) where they are too young to play mothers to the teenage stars (teenage focused movies bring in the $$) yet they are too young to be the grandmothers. Yes of course there are all sorts of other films out there but the men of the same age are still playing the heart throb at that age…

I’d rather watch a Julianne Moore or other similar aged woman starring in a film (AND NOT IN A “COUGAR” seduce a teenager ROLE) than one of these early twenties skanks any day… haha

I do apply the same reasoning to men – it is just that they have a bit more time to appear “sexy” that is all. As an earlier poster mentioned Tom Cruise is reaching the limit for the type of roles he does . And the actors who are currently “hot” are as far as I can see, mostly in their thirties and forties.

The roles which middle aged women can do tend to be roles with”meat” in them. And they are fewer in number than the cute girl roles. That is why the ranks of actresses who still get good work in middle age thin out. Cuteness is not there anymore, they must rely on other things. A new generation of cute girls is always ready to replace the current one. Someone like Jennifer Aniston seems to want to remain a cute girl doing romcoms. But she is getting out of the age when they make sense.

Of course films are about more than sexiness, but nonetheless sex and the pursuit of a mate still make up a major story line in lots of movies. And really that is more of a young persons game. Yes older people do go out and fall,in love, but the vast viewing audience likes and has always liked,the sight of young attractive people going about that process more than older people.

This is not sexism on my part, just realism. I like middle aged women – heck I’m in my mid-fifties and female so I’d better. I think I look good — but I was certainly prettier and more photogenic 30 years ago — and film is a photographic art too.

I agree with JustMe all the way. And anyone who thinks we are sexist and ageist, is in denial and/or not reading her posts carefully.

Now please read my post carefully. It is the natural way of things to have your youth, and lose it. We also have our years of peak fertility and we lose those too. Peak fertility in women *is* displayed by unlined skin, small waist to hip ratio, and firm breasts. So if a studio is going for pure sex appeal, they will hire a young (i.e. fertile) woman. Men have an extended reproductive viability in comparison to women – that’s just a fact, not ageism OR sexism. Also, back when we were Grog and Groggette, an older male (as apposed to one barely past puberty) had more muscle, skill and wisdom when it came to the hunt and providing for the family. So he stayed attractive to viable females for longer than she to him.

Does ageism exist where it shouldn’t in our culture? Absolutely. Same with sexism. But when you are talking about pure good old fashioned sex appeal, you are talking about biology for the most part. Of course, I AM a biologist, so…

I pretty much always like her interviews. And she’s right of course. But with the age/kids thing – this “That just comes with the territory and is part of appealing to the fan-based demographic” is part of what drives me nuts. Because it’s some numbskull that defines the audience in such narrow terms and that determines some of the questions.

I’m a few years older than she is and like her I am of Irish lineage (with the pale skin to prove it). I always avoided the sun and never tried to tan (since I CAN’T tan anyway I am regularly told that I look younger than I am. Darker skinned people can get away with some sun worship, but not folks like us.

My teenage daughter told me recently that she plans to do the same as she also is a member of the melanin-deprived population. She said “mom – so many of my friends’ mothers have leathery skin – I’m going to follow your example.” Wow was I shocked!

I think it is pretty pointless to comment on anyone’s looks in a magazine photo spread because they are almost always touched up in some way. They even photoshopped 22 year old Jennifer Lawrence for pity sakes and I doubt she really needed it.

Loads of people (perhaps especially older people) hold tension around the mouth, particularly when it is closed. That is why you see SO many open mouthed photoshoots. Sure, it can scream ‘sexpot/blow up doll’ but often they’re just aiming for a soft, beautiful face.

She’s a great actress but she’s wrong, people ask me (a man) all the time about my age and about whether or not I have children. Once you are perceived to be of a certain age people act like there is something wrong with you if you don’t have children.

Mario she meant ACTRESSES are asked about age.Being a woman in Hollywood,when she does an interview to promote a movie the magazine will ask more questions about her age than the film she’s promoting.Another question that I think people obsess over are actresses’ weight and diet.Do Brad Pitt and George Clooney get grilled about what they eat or how much they work out? No, but every actress does.I am surprised she didn’t mention that.It would annoy the hell out of me to always have to defend what I eat or don’t eat.

I think the main thing that makes Julianne look so good is her beautiful bone structure. Also, as my mother once pointed out, being a redhead makes you look younger longer. I started paying attention to that and noticed that she was right, it is often harder to tell the age of a ginger person, whether they are a man or a woman…

There is something about the way she holds her mouth when she speaks that bugs me. Like she doesn’t have any muscles in her lips, or is trying too hard to have a sexy mouth. These open mouth pictures aren’t helping with that problem either.